Overcoming a daunting list of engineering challenges; LIGO team connected optical, electrical and mechanical elements of advanced interferometry to find engineering success at the limits of human endeavor.

The National Academy of Sciences announced the election of 84 new members and 21 foreign associates from 14 countries in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window to the cosmos.

Californian photonic circuits maker Kaiam hopes to create a high-value research and development facility at its Livingston plant over the next few years as it builds what its creator says could become a “billion dollar company”.

A new technology has promise to safely find buried plastic explosives and maybe even spot fast-growing tumors. The technique involves the clever interplay of microwaves and ultrasound to develop a detector like the Star Trek tricorder.

Karl Deisseroth has been awarded a $3 million Breakthrough Prize in life sciences for his pioneering work in optogenetics. Stanford Physicists Xiao-Liang Qi and Leonardo Senatore won New Horizons in Physics Prizes for their outstanding contributions to fundamental physics.

Using a new algorithm, Stanford engineers can design and build a prism-like silicon structure that can bend light at right angles. The goal is to transmit data faster and more efficiently via optical rather than electrical signals.